


tequila sunrise

by Alphira



Category: Edens Zero (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Guilt, M/M, Road Trips, Weisz is horny, but without the sweet, no beta we die like men, oh who am i kidding it's just bitter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 13:58:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21037349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alphira/pseuds/Alphira
Summary: Believe it or not, this is actually my first time publishing a fic since I have a very, VERY bad habit of not finishing stuff. I'm trying to fix this habit - starting with this fic. This one's actually set in the same universe/series as another fic I will be writing soon for a special EZ Fic Exchange event. Think of this as the prequel. This one gets pretty hurty-hurty, especially towards the end. Don't say I didn't warn you :)Well, I think I've said enough. Enjoy!P.S.: Weiki is a god tier ship and extremely underrated, change my mind (hint: you can't)





	tequila sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> Believe it or not, this is actually my first time publishing a fic since I have a very, VERY bad habit of not finishing stuff. I'm trying to fix this habit - starting with this fic. This one's actually set in the same universe/series as another fic I will be writing soon for a special EZ Fic Exchange event. Think of this as the prequel. This one gets pretty hurty-hurty, especially towards the end. Don't say I didn't warn you :)
> 
> Well, I think I've said enough. Enjoy!
> 
> P.S.: Weiki is a god tier ship and extremely underrated, change my mind (hint: you can't)

Weisz finds him at a gas station in an unassuming little town just outside Detroit. 

This year it’s snowing earlier than usual. A fragile blanket of icy slush already hugging roofs and roads and trees in late September. 

There’s another car, a sedan with faded paint and chapped blue coating, parked at the pump one lane over. It’s empty of people but not of luggage, suitcases and leather bags and instant noodles nearly bursting through the brim of the back seat alone. There’s a faint smell of exhaust in the air. The owner still nearby.

He’s filling the gas tank when he hears a crash and scream inside the convenience store.

Weisz freezes. He replaces the fueling nozzle, and reaches for his gun.

He takes a silent step, then two, then three, toward the door, hyper aware of every inhale, each rustle of a branch, metal and plastic in his grip. 

He unclicks the safety.

That’s when _he_ bursts through the entrance from the inside, a young man with raven black hair who looks to be no older than twenty, stumbling and grabbing at the door frame to steady himself.

He’s panting heavily. Sporting a bad wound on the left side of his face. 

“Hey! You alright?” Weisz rushes to his side, supports him by the shoulders.

“I- I ran into one inside. We need to get out of here. There’s probably more coming.”

“Holy fuck. Here? Of all places? Why the hell-?” Weisz does a cursory sweep of the area. He hears shuffling in the woods behind the house, approaching them. “Jesus Christ. Okay. Um, that your car over there?”

He nods.

“You good to drive?”

“I left my keys back in there. I don’t think it’s safe to try to get them back at this point.”

“Shit. Alright. Guess you’re coming with me.” Weisz leads him by the arm and sprints across the lot to his truck with the boy.

Three- no, four, _five_ Undead erupt into the clearing from the backwoods, charging toward them as fast as their haggard legs can carry them. Two of the corpses look newer, limbs and skin still intact and fresh. The other three must be older. An arm or leg or patch of skin missing. Weathered away by time and the elements.

Weisz doesn’t wait for the boy to put on the seatbelt before he floors the gas pedal. The tires grind a rubbery screech as everything inside shoots toward the back. He’ll have to clean the mess up later, he notes irritatingly.

First things first.

“There’s a first aid kit in the glove box. Use however much you need to cover it up, stop the bleeding. I got more in the back.”

“Thank you. And, sorry.”

Weisz frowns. “For what?”

“That you had to save me. For bothering you. And…”

“...and?”

“N-never mind. Nothing.”

The boy applies some bandages and gauze to the cut. A squarish white patch now on his left cheek.

“So… Where are we going?”

“Right now, a gas station two towns over. Bastards interrupted my gas-filling. If we’re talking long-term, a camp down south. Tucson, Arizona. Warmer, stockpiles of food, good defenses.”

“Defenses?” Shiki’s voice wavers. Lightly, cautiously. Still enough for Weisz to pick up over the hum of the engine.

“Yeah. Patrols, guns, and blood checks at the border. Even the smarter of the assholes can’t sneak through.”

Shiki answers after a pause. “Oh. I see.”

He turns to face the side window. Expression hidden.

The car goes silent.

Weisz blasts through a red light, because it’s not like the cops are there to give a damn anymore.

A few more minutes tick by. They’ve passed the first town already. Approaching the second. The silence lurks, so does the awkwardness. What are you supposed to say to a stranger whom you just picked up spontaneously during a zombie apocalypse, anyway?

“So.” Weisz breaks the silence first, pops a Mentos into his mouth. Always good to have something to chew on when talking. Feels less awkward that way. “What were you doing before shit hit the fan?”

Shiki turns forward. Not quite making eye contact, but not rejecting communication. “I was studying at a small engineering college in the town I was raised in. Granbell, northern Ohio. It’s real old and small. Sometimes not even on the map.”

“Oh yeah? What were you studying?”

“Aerospace engineering. You know, designing rockets and stuff. Not like it’s gonna be of use any time soon though.” Shiki chuckles. His voice is light, innocent, warm. Like church bells in a comfortable spring morning. Weisz likes it.

“Ya never know. Maybe that’ll actually be helpful. Maybe that’s how we can escape this hellhole.”

“With a spaceship?” There’s an incredulous look in Shiki’s eyes, a curious sparkle. He seems in disbelief, but also intrigued. It’s honestly a bit adorable, Weisz thinks.

“Yeah, sure. Where else is habitable? Uh, Mars. The Andromeda. Or Alpha. Alpha… Alpha-something.”

“Alpha Centauri?”

“Alpha Centauri.”

Shiki smiles. Gazes up at the overcast sky. He looks nostalgic, yearning, hopeful. “That would be cool, wouldn’t it? Flying off in a futuristic spaceship, discovering new planets and new worlds.”

“Sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel.” Not like Earth didn’t just turn into one with this zombie virus bullshit.

“I can be the captain, and you can be co-captain.”

“I’m not captain?”

“I would know how the ship works.”

“Mm. Touche.”

“We’ll also need more people, like a warrior, a healer, a mage…”

“Isn’t that crossing into fantasy territory?”

“Who says it can’t be sci-fi fantasy?”

“Double touche.”

Weisz finds talking to him relaxing, easy. He’s whimsical, genuine, welcoming. The type of person he wouldn’t mind being stuck in the car with twenty-four seven for the foreseeable future.

“While we’re at it, what’s your name?”

“I’m Shiki.”

“Shiki? Just Shiki?”

“I’m technically Shiki Granbell, but no one knows my real last name since I’m adopted. When I was still in the children’s home, as a game, a friend pointed to a random place on a map and started calling me by that name. It kinda just stuck. I ended up getting adopted into that same town. Weird, right?”

“Damn, that’s wild. Life is wild.” 

“We’re living through a frickin’ zombie apocalypse. Of course it’s wild!”

They laugh. A bright, feathery warmth settles itself in Weisz’s stomach. It feels good.

For no particular reason, he gets a feeling that everything will be okay.

“Well, I’m Weisz Steiner. Welcome aboard, Shiki.”


End file.
